Forced to come from behind against SV Hamburg, Arsène Wenger’s team had once more put their supporters through anguish, but all the anxiety was worth it as they finally seized the lead and extended it in a thrilling finale.

Suddenly the prospect of a draw away to FC Porto in the climactic game in group G did not seem so daunting, even without the suspended Thierry Henry. Wenger also expressed a hope that this rousing victory had brought about other beneficial side-effects.

“It will convince my players not to make an obsession of conceding the first goal and think, ‘Here we go again’,” Wenger said, referring to his team’s habit of falling behind and being held at their new stadium by less gifted opponents.

That depressing prospect loomed large again after Rafael van der Vaart’s stunning early strike for Hamburg, a team without a point in the competition. They were remarkably obdurate for a team with nothing to fight for.

Arsenal had struck the crossbar through Alexander Hleb but their first-half football had been notably lacking in conviction. “I felt that we were playing a little sideways and needed to be more direct,” Wenger said.

He backed up his rousing words with an important tactical tweak, switching from a five-man midfield by moving Robin van Persie in from the left flank and pushing him up alongside Henry.

“We kept up the pressure and became stronger and stronger,” Wenger added. “The players refused to lose. We didn’t feel sorry for ourselves when we were hitting the post and crossbar. We needed to be really strong.”

Wenger could not have dreamt that his adjustment would work out so well. Only seven minutes of the second period had elapsed when, playing with greater urgency, Hleb fed the indefatigable Francesc Fàbregas. Van Persie was already charging through the inside-right channel and the young Spaniard rolled the ball into his path. The right-footed finish to draw his team level was composed and the Dutchman might have been surprised to find himself replaced not long afterwards by Emmanuel Adebayor.

By then, though, Wenger had decided that he needed even more attacking power and threw on forward after forward, with Walcott and Júlio Baptista also coming off the bench.

Ironically, though, it was a full back who struck the crucial blow. Seven minutes of time was left when Emmanuel Eboué put his team in front. Having surged into the Hamburg area, his shot was powerful but should have been stopped by Stefan Wächter, who, instead, diverted it into his own goal.

Walcott had set things in motion by feeding Eboué and the young forward was also instrumental in the third as, after an exchange of passes with Adebayor, he raced behind the German side’s defence and picked out Baptista to head into a gaping net.

“When Theo came on we had an injection of pace and power,” his manager said. “At the moment he is in a mental state where he knows he can affect the game. He has the physical ingredients. I am watching him closely and he will play more matches.”